JuJu Smith-Schuster had last season cut short after just five games due to a season-ending shoulder injury. It was a less than ideal situation for the then-Steelers' star, who was playing on a one-year deal after coming off a 2020 season that left fantasy football owners wanting more. Now in Kansas City, JuJu will try to return to the form that sent him flying up the fantasy rankings just a few years ago.
The Chiefs are looking for a new No. 1 wide receiver after surprisingly trading away superstar wideout Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins. Based on his stats over the past few years, Smith-Schuster could fill that void, but obviously health and opportunity will be key. Below, we'll take a look at Smith-Schuster's fantasy outlook and where he stands in ADP.
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JuJu Smith-Schuster Injury Update: How long will Chiefs' WR be out?
UPDATE: Smith-Schuster returned to Chiefs' practice on Aug. 29 and will seemingly be good to go for Week 1.
Kansas City head coach Andy Reid told reporters earlier this week that Smith-Schuster has been dealing with a sore knee since the Chiefs' first preseason game. However, he added that Smith-Schuster has "turned the corner" and should be fine for the regular season, according to beat writer Herbie Teope. Smith-Schuster was seen catching passes from Patrick Mahomes during warmups in the Chiefs' preseason finale against the Packers, which is a good sign. This is not the first time that Smith-Schuster has dealt with knee injuries in his career. The 25-year-old wide receiver suffered a knee sprain in 2019 that cost him four games and a knee strain in '20. Draft Sharks' exclusive Injury Predictor tool lists Smith-Schuster as a "very high-risk" for injury and projects him to miss 3.6 games this season.
With Smith-Schuster being an injury concern, we might need to temper our expectations what we should expect from the young wide receiver. He won't be able to duplicate what Hill did last season with 145 targets, but the Chiefs will hope that Smith-Schuster can give them at least 100 targets, which he's done twice in his career when he played all 16 games.
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JuJu Smith-Schuster fantasy ranking and ADP
Heading into this season, SN Fantasy has the one-time Pro Bowl wide receiver ranked 38th among wide receivers in standard formats and 34th in PRR formats. Smith-Schuster should receive a good amount of targets this season when healthy. Defenses will look to put bracket coverage on outstanding tight end Travis Kelce, which means the Chiefs' wide receivers will have their opportunities to make plays.
When we saw him play a full season in 2020, Smith-Schuster put up 98 receptions (127 targets) for 831 yards and nine touchdowns. Now granted, the 6-1 wide receiver should've had more yards with the number of targets and receptions, but the quarterback was Ben Roethlisberger, whose arm talent was on the decline. Despite having fewer than 900 yards, Smith-Schuster had eight games with at least 50 yards and seven games with double-digit fantasy points in standard leagues. However, if you had Smith-Schuster in PPR leagues, he was one of the more consistent high-floor receivers with 11 games with 10-plus fantasy points scored.
FantasyPros has Smith-Schuster's ADP at No. 75 overall and WR32, which is not a bad spot given that he'll be playing in a brand new offense and has injury concerns. The other wide receivers ranked around Smith-Schuster are Adam Thielen (WR31), Elijah Moore (WR33), Rashod Bateman (WR34), and Hunter Renfrow (WR35). On paper, it's a good group of wide receivers that features veterans who will get their targets and two young wideouts who are expected to make that leap this season.
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JuJu Smith-Schuster's fantasy outlook 2022
If we take Reid's word that Smith-Schuster should be ready for Week 1, that's good news for fantasy owners who might take the 25-year-old wideout in the seventh or eighth round. This season, Kansas City has to replace a combined 219 targets between Hill and Byron Pringle, who signed with the Bears. It's not crazy to think that Smith-Schuster could pick up half of those targets, as he's being used all across the formation this summer. Newcomers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Skyy Moore have been used more as deep threats, which limits their respective ceilings.
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Over his five-year career, Smith-Schuster is averaging 95.2 targets per season, which includes the two 100-targets seasons in 2018 and '20. The former USC standout should be able to get to the century mark, as Mahomes will spread the ball around in one of the more high-powered offenses in the league.
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There should be some excitement around Smith-Schuster, who has been one of the more reliable wide receivers when healthy (68.6 catch percentage). When you factor in the quarterback that he's playing with and the offensive talent surrounding him, Smith-Schuster could sneakily put together a 1,000-yard season. If he does that, the Chiefs will not waste any time re-signing him to a multi-year deal, and we will have to talk about Smith-Schuster being a top-50 player in fantasy football next season.
